One of the first dates my husband and I went on was a tour of Hearst Castle and over the years I’ve revisited the magnificent estate on a handful of occasions. Each and every time I think, wouldn’t it be great to actually take a dip in one of the enchanting pools or mosey around the property as if you were an invited guest?

That fantasy became a reality for some local folks this summer. I ran into Alamo resident Carol Pierovich who told me she and her husband Lance had recently returned from San Simeon with friends who were treated to a special afternoon on Aug. 20, thanks to Greg and Bev Kent of Alamo.

The Kents had purchased the “A Pinch Me Moment — Swimming at the Hearst Castle Pool” auction item at a fundraiser benefiting the California Rangeland Trust.

“Greg is a large ranch owner himself and outdoor enthusiast who generously purchased this private tour of the Hearst Ranch and Castle for 10 people and the highlight of the day was swimming in the 130-foot outdoor Neptune Pool with cocktails and hors d’ oeuvres at sunset,” said Carol.

Also in attendance were Stephanie and Brad Ingram of Danville and Livermore residents Michele and Phillip Menges and Charles and Susan Wall.

Carol described how the group was greeted at the ranch gates by Nita Vail and Steve McDonald of Rangeland Trust and Roland Camacho with Hearst Grass Fed Beef. Two SUVs were waiting for them at the end of a private airstrip and after loading up, they covered 80,000 acres of the ranch, trekking their way through pastures and streams and making an unusual stop for lunch in a renovated barn.

“An incredible Hearst Grass Fed steak lunch awaited us in the ‘milking barn,’ an impressive building with a roaring fire in a wall of stone,” said Carol. The highlight was an after-hours private reception for them with cocktails and hors d’ oeuvres at the 130-foot Neptune Pool with an invitation, “to please do swim!”

Carol told me the setting was surreal. “We were surrounded by beautiful marble Grecian columns and statues and the crystal cool fresh water after a day on the range was heavenly,” she added.

I spoke with Stephanie, who was with her father, Greg, at the fundraiser for California Rangeland Trust at Wente Winery in the summer of 2010, when he bought the private ranch tour for 10 complete with swimming and sunset cocktail party package, donated by Steve Hearst.

“After the excitement of being the highest bidder for the auction item, we had to wait an entire year for our tour date to finally arrive … which was worth the wait,” she told me.

“After viewing part of the ranch, we had fabulous appetizers followed by a full buffet lunch spread, including Hearst Ranch beef and Hearst wines, a private castle tour, where almost nothing was off limits, and ended with a famous swim,” added Stephanie, who grew up in Alamo.

She said the California Rangeland Trust enables ranchers to sell development rights of some or all of their land, preserving the rangelands while still having the ability to use their land for ranching. She explained that this is a cause her father supports, since he is a cattle rancher and owns The Buckeye Ranch, a 16,000-head ranch in both San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties. To learn more, visit www.rangelandtrust.org.

Carol said this is a memory she will never forget and is grateful to the Kents for the awesome adventure.

“While in the pool dressing rooms you could almost hear whispers of laughter and clinking of glasses of days gone by; you could just imagine the grand parties given at this true castle. What a beyond bucket list memory!” she said.

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